Saturday, June 29, 2013

Oops! I have had this blog post in "draft" mode since we got back from Utah. After a few days of getting caught up on sleep we are trying to get into some sort of routine around here! Thankfully our routine does involve sleeping until 9-9:30 in the morning... I mean how lucky are we?! We have a 3 year old that sleeps until WE want to wake up... I don't think it gets much better than that! Now, if I could only make myself go to bed when she does around 8:45, I'd be feeling great! It actually does work out well for Jared and I since we aren't getting babysitters for Joelle just yet. We may not have date nights like we once did, BUT we do get about 2 hours of adult time after the little one goes to bed each night. Recently we've been getting caught up on shows like America's Got Talent and Motive. We've come to find out that our lives are a little boring after Joelle goes to bed, ha!

Oh my! It's 10:15 am and I haven't fed my daughter breakfast. I should probably get on that STAT! I'll leave you with some pictures of Joelle exploring the Children's Museum in Utah.

This was her favorite part... the kitchen! She decided that she wants a full kitchen built into her bedroom. A girl can dream, right?!

We didn't make it up very far on the rock-climbing wall. Not her cup of tea!

With much hesitation, she did actually get into the helicopter. She did give it a good walk-around to make sure it was bolted to the ground. Poor thing did not want the helicopter to take off with her in it!

Monday, June 24, 2013

1. She dances all.the.time- literally. So far she has danced her way through Honduras and Utah. If she sees a mirror or hears a song, you can be sure she will be shakin' that booty! It is also her official "exit" when she leaves a room.

2. To help her understand the Tooth Fairy, we used Tinkerbell as an example. So to Joelle, Tinkerbell is the Tooth Fairy :)

3. Joelle truly has childlike faith. She is pretty bold when it comes to talking about Jesus, singing worship songs, or praying in public. I really do admire this about her. Last night I actually prayed that I would be bold like my daughter... who is 3 years old. I know I could use some childlike faith that keeps me from worrying about what other people think!

4. She loves to love. Seriously, our girl would rather cuddle than play most days. She is a hugger, back-scratcher, lap-sitter, hand-holder, and all of the above. We are so thankful for that!

5. Even though Joelle came to us as a 3 year old, we are still getting a lot of "firsts" with her. Almost everything she experiences is something new, that she has never seen or done before. Many times my mommy heart aches because I didn't get to hold her as a baby, watch her walk for the first time, see her teeth grow in, hear her first words. BUT, then something happens that quickly reminds me how blessed I am to have her NOW... like the first time she played in the splash-pad. I will NEVER forget the look on her face, hearing her giggle and say "WOW!!!", or the way she danced through the streams of water :)

So, for all those days that I missed in her life... the pure joy I see on her face NOW makes up for that. This is my daughter... a little girl full of dancing, imagination, love, and so much more!

Sunday, June 23, 2013

So, we've been home a little over 4 months. To be honest with you, I truly feel like Joelle has always been a part of our family. I really can't believe that it's been such a short amount of time. This weekend we packed up our little family for a trip to Utah. Our agency was having a little reunion and Joelle's BEST friend was planning to attend, so that meant we were going as well!

Watching Joelle play, giggle, smile, and run all over the place with her BFF brought the greatest joy to Jared and me. I knew she would be ecstatic to see her friends, but I had no idea how much fun it would be to watch them play together :)

We also thoroughly enjoyed being in cooler weather... and having a backdrop of mountains is always a plus!

Joelle did so well on Friday night at part 1 of the reunion, that we decided to go for round 2 on Saturday afternoon! We could not pass up an opportunity for her to play with her friend for one last time before heading home! And, boy am I glad that we did because it was even more fun to watch the 2nd day!

I'm pretty sure she's thinking, "MOM, could you please leave me alone so I can play with my friend?!"

I think the smile on her face says it all!!!

Before heading to the airport we made a little pitstop to that salty body of water in Utah ;). Ummm... it was not the most enjoyable walk to water, but we had to do it. I'm not fond of walking past dozens of dead birds and smelling nastiness, but maybe that's just me :)

I'm pretty sure this girl looks cute no matter if she is surrounded by nasty smells, dead birds, and mud!

Now we are home... doing the whole unpacking, laundry, relaxing in front of the TV thing :)

Saturday, June 1, 2013

We definitely have a little fish on our hands. For someone who had never seen a pool, she sure has made quite the progress in 1 1/2 months of swimming. If the weather is nice, or even a little decent she wants in that pool! Being able to swim consistently has definitely helped her get more and more comfortable and allowed her swimming skills to develop quickly!

Every time we get in the pool we start out with the life jacket. It's really helped her get the form down and helped keep her fears to a minimum!

Then, by the end of our swimming time she's lost the jacket and is swimming on her own!

Jared has taught her to use snorkel gear so that she won't be scared when we go to Hawaii. She actually swims the best with the gear on! .